NOw welcome good brother frō parties of beyonde the see. Wee haue sore lon­gyd for your safe retorne / hopynge to here some newes from oure euangelyke brotherne of Germany, and in what maner the gospell dothe prosper there & go forwarde.

Syr I thanke you for your welcomynge. How beyt concernyng your desyre, to be certefyed of them whō ye call euāgelyke brothern: I assure you vnfaynyngly that I lyke theyr maner euery day worse & worse.

What haue ye so sodēly chāged your minde, and begynne now to fall from [Page] the gospell forsakyng goddys worde?

Truly I haue chaunged my mynde from er­rours and wrong oppynyōs / but neuer entendyng to renye goddys worde or Crystes gospell: wherof as farre as I cāperceyue they be destitute and mych wyde.

To proue y^t it were impossible / seyng ye cā not denye but that they haue Crystes gospell in theyr vulgare speche iprēted fre for euery body to loke vppō / wyth cō tynuall exercyse of euangelyk preachyng of goddys worde.

In very dede they haue the exteriour letter, with some outwarde apparaunce of zele towarde it. But for all that as towchyng an euangelyke lyfe or a crysten cōuersacyon, with [Page] faythfull frutys behouable to y^e same: they be neuer a deale nerer in effecte than were the Iewes, whyche wolde haue made Cryste theyr kynge / not for any syncere loue that they had to folow him in vertuous lyuyng▪ or for reuerēce of hys godly worde / but onely in that they thought he wold haue satis [...]ed theyr carnall appetitys & sedycious affeccyons: wherof to be auctour he was after­ward wrongfully suspect / euē as we see now adays hys gos­pell euyll spokē vppō thorow the slaunderouse behaueoure & wykked demeanoure of thē, whom in contempt of good people ye call euāgelyke & crystē brothern / auauncing them selfys to be onely the trewe folo­wers [Page] & obseruers of Crystes gospell / where as theyr liuing manyfestely repugneth. So y^t after my iudgemente the chefe captayns of them may be lykened to Theudas & Iudas: [...] . 5 whych vnder a colour of Mess [...]as comyng the very sauiour and redemer from all bōdage / whose o [...]yce wrongfully vsurpyng by false promyses of ly­bert [...] [...]/peruerted much people of the Iewes for to folow thē, to theyr vtter vndoyng and fynall destruccyon.

These sedycyouse persons to applye vnto Martyn Luther and his folowers / is bothe agaynste y^e trothe & witnes of your owne consciēce yf ye duely examyne yt. For it is playne that thys Theudas & Iudas, of a pre­sumptyous [Page] affeccyon and vii quyetnes of mynde / wythoute auctoryte of goddys worde or preferrement of hys honoure, sedycyously moued the people to folow thē & not god: where as Martyn Luther with such other euangelyke prechers, a­uaunce not presumptuousely them selfes but god onely / norther perswade the people to folowe them but Criste: whose gospell longe season obscured by mennys tradycyons, they labour to bryng vnto lyght / & to restore the captyued conseyencys of ignorante folke vnto the fredome of goddes word / whereof myche people nowe a dayes are nolesse desyrous than the Iewes were of theyr delyueraunce of bodely captyuyte.

To answere you in thys poynt, I dout nothing but thys Teudas and Iudas pretendyd to the peple (whom they fynally dysceuyd) y^e auc­toryte of god / and y^t they were specyally sent of him for theyr deliueraūce / shewing some coloured apparēce vnto y^e same: Lyke as Martyn Luther in y^e begynnyng pretended a mer­uelouse zele & tender affeccion towarde the blynde ignoraūce of people for to reduce theym vnto y^e clerenes of knowlege / shewyng such a serue [...] spyryt, that he was iugged to be syngulerly chosen of god nowe in these latter days, for a dew re­formacion of the hole worlde.

But consyder to what open myschefe hys secrete malygnyte [Page] brast forthe at last / and how many thousandys by occasyō of hys doctrine haue peryshed & dayly peryshe bothe in body and sowle: whereof to haue a forther declaracyon yf ye wyll here me wyth pacyēce / I shall so describe vnto you y^e fassyon of hym and of hys adherētys, that ye may euydētly know y^t they ar no dyscyples of Cryste but of Antycryste, no trewe doctours but fals dysceyuers no apostles but apostatas and patrons of peruersyte.

Now I beseche you thē to procede on youre purpose, decla­ryng it at length: and I shall gladly gyue you the herynge without interrupcyon / trustig verely that all parcyalyte set a parte, ye wyll shewe the very [Page] trothe accordynge as ye haue perfitely known by experyēce. And thus doyng ye may setle many mennis hartis at rest in this troublous season / so sore encombred wyth contēcyons and sondry oppynyons of lerned men / that they cā not tell what party they maye beste lene vnto.

Syr furst of all I protest here, y^t I entende to speake no forther than I haue perceyued among them my selfe / or els perfytely e [...] ­formed by credable persons, of whose certifycaciō I ought to haue no mystrust. wherfore for to go vnto my purpose, ye shall vnderstande that this Martyne Luther cheefe cap­tayn of new heretykes, & bringer forth of old heresies / was [Page] a frere augustyne in the cite of wyttenberge, vnder y^e dominion of Frederyke duke of Saxony. which duke opteyned a perdon from Rome for the byl­dīg of a certayne college there within his own pallace, wherof Martyn Luther was a great setter forwarde / vntyll the tyme that thyder came a Iu­belye from the pope, dysanul­lyng the dukes perdon amōg other for a season: wherwith Martyn Luther not a lytle offended, endeuoured hym selfe to preche agaynst it. And sone after he putt forthe in prynt a treatyse De indulgentiis, inueyng agaynst the graunt of ꝑdons: how be it so closely, y^t he was supposed not to haue condemned the auctoryte but onely y^e [Page] abuse / whych to say the trothe was to farre owt of frame in y^e prouynce. And also he tooke in hand to preche y^e playn textes of scrypture / dysclosynge the blyndenes of the worlde & detectyng y^e fautys of all esta­tes bothe hyghe & lowe, spy­rytuall and temporall / vnder suche moderacyon y^t he was taken for a prophete of god a­monge them / & grewe in esty­macyō of y^e peple dayly more and more. Not wythstādynge he pretendyd to take no parte wyth any secte other faccyon of heretikes, as wicklyf, Hus, Berengarius, & suche other whom he vtterly cōdemnyd / dyssalowing the Boemes because they seꝑatyd thē selftys frome the churche of Rome / [Page] cōstantly affermyng the pope to be Crystys vycarye. Thus he playd y^e woolfe in a lābys skynne a while secretly / tyl his frutes gaue euydēce & openly bewraid what he was in effect For shortely after he alteryd his mynde & reuokyd y^t he had spoken before / wysshēg all his bookys that were empryntyd to be burnyd & vtterly destro­yd. Then begane he stowtly to fortefy his feyned fayth voyde of good workys / perswadyng lybertye and assuraūce of sal­uacyō / to y^e defacynge of cha­rytable dedes and suppressyō of y^e drede of god. Then pre­ched he pleasante thyngys to hys audyence / , howe no man was bownde to confesse hym vn to a prest [...]other to obserue [Page] y^e prescryppcyon of prelates a­bowt fastyngys & [...]excepciō of meete and drynke and that no persō nedyd to payne him self with workes of satysfaccyon whyles Cryste had payed y­nowgh for vs all Also how cōstytucyōes of Popes & bys­shoppys bynde vs nothynge. Then all hys sermones were agaynste y^e cleargye / callynge y^e Pope Antychryste, & hys fo­lowers dyscyples of Sathās synagoge / in whose defyance he made a booke intytled / de [...]ptuntate Babisonica, full of con­uycyous furyes and ragynge blasphemy agaynst the blyssed sacramentes / preferrynge hys owne iugemēt aboue the holy doctoures of the churche. And where as he had wytnessyde [Page] before / that wicklyfe, Hus, Be rengarius, & suche other were heretikes: than he sayde that they were godly men and saintes callynge theyr condēpners Antecrystes and lymmes of y^e deuyll. Furthermore to bryng kynges pryncyes & temporall gouernours in contempte of their subgettes: he spared no­ther by prechyng ne techynge to rayle agaynst thē / somtyme preuely where he durst not discouer hys malyce for feare of dyspleasure / and somtyme a­pertely there as he thought hym selfe in no daunger of thē on whom he rayled: as wyt­nesse the letters of cōspyracye whyche he craftely forged to destroye the duke George of Saxonye. *******************STAR CRXN TILL END************** [Page] Also the outragyous treatyse that he wrote agaynst the kynges hyghenes both in latyn & duch / so shameles and sedycy­ously, that it is not onely con­demned of good men / but also abhorred of hys owne adherē tes. yet all thys whyle he for bare the comons & vplandysh people / and encouraged them to note other mennes vyces rather than to amend theyr own fawtes / alleggyng oftē tymes vnto them, tyrany of prynces, oppressyō of the clergye, wyth other manyfold myseries and wretched calamyties, whyche he sayde they were wrōgfully compelled to [...] suffer. whereby wythin smalle ꝓcesse of tyme they toke such a stomake / that [...]he drede of god and man sett [Page] a syde, they arose vppe wyth open sedycyone in dyuers pattyes of Germanye aboue the nombere of an hundred thou­sande persons / in suche a furious fasshyon, that euery man all moste stoode in feare of his lyfe. wherfore M. Luther perceyuynge no small ieoperdye toward hī through theyr insurreccyon / because the occasyon of yt was layde to his charge as yt was in dede: immediat­ly to shyft hym selfe from sus­picion and daūgerous displea­sure of y^e prynces & great men / he wrote hastely a boke voyde of all Christē charyte and na­turall compassion, against the sayde comones or vplandyshe people / so extremely y^t it wold [Page] abhorre an hethē harte to here or rede yt / enforcynge euery man wythoute any respecte of pyte, to kyll and slee theym as houndes: of whom were my­serably slayne in one place and a nother, aboue .iii. score thou sande ꝑsones / ye resydue beyng now a lyfe in farre greater mysery & calamyte than euer they were afore. After thys fell a dissencyō betwene M. Luther and Carolstadius aboute the sacramente of the altare. For Carolstadius denyeth in it the bodely presence of Christe / affyrmynge that when he spack thes wordes: Hoc est corpus meum, he meant thē of his owne cor­porall bodye and not of the sacramēt: where as M. Luther holdeth the contrarye / all beyt [Page] he beganne to fall from yt as his owne wrytynge testifieth, had he not ben [...]uētyd by this Carolstadius / whom the wycked arrogaūcy of his stomake could not suffer to be auctour of so hye an heresie, wherof he couetyd hym selfe to haue ben father. This variaunce endurynge betwyxe them: dyuers forsoke M. Luther & leanyd to Carolstadius syde / & many malicious letters fraudulētly forged were conueyde frome the one to the other wyth calū nyous prechynges / ye & when they met to gether, more redy wyth fystes than wyth pacyēt argumētes to trye theyr cause had they not bene sonderyd. Not wythstange through fauour of the duke and other valyaūte [Page] frendes / M. Luther so [...]uayled agaynste hym that he was excomunycate: & beynge a man of auncyent age, an old preste newly maried, and some tyme archedeaken of wytten berge / was fayne to leue hys younge wyfe and auoyde the domynyon of Saxony. After y^e he had wandred thourough dyuers cities and townes swadynge hys opynyon wyth odi­ous reporte / to y^e mynysshyng of M. Luthers fame: at laste he cā to Scyrich in Swytzer­lande / where he founde one accordynge to hys execrable appetyte, named Swynglyus, whych was there an excedyng setter forth of M. Luthers doctrine. To whō as sone as he had disclosed his detcstable heresye [Page] agaynst the blessed sacrament, he gladly accepted him / and in denyenge the corporall presence of Cryst, agreed both in one / sauynge in this poynte they dyffered: where as Carol stadius sayd that our saueour Christe spekyng thes wordes: hoc est corpus meū, meaned his corporall presence there syttynge with his dysciples at the table & not in forme of brede: Swinglius affyrmed that they were not to be vnderstandyd lytte­rally, but by a figure of interpretacyon / so that est was takē for significat: and thes wordes of Chryste, this is my bodye / were as myche to saye, as this sygnyfyeth my body. Of thys mater he wrot sondry epistles to dyuers of his familyar frendes, [Page] gloryously reioycynge y^t he had founde oute the longe vnknowen trothe of so hygh a mysterye: not by the occasy­on of Carolstadius (as he bo­sted) but through his own dilygent redynge of scripture, and specyally of saynt Augustyns workes / who in very dede ys clene contrary to his horryble heresye. Neuertheles many of M. Luthers adherentes assentyd vnto hym / amonge whom the chefe was Oecolāpadius: whych beynge a seculer preste of .xl. yeres of age, entred y^e religyon of saynt Brydgyttes order in y^e prouince of Bauarye / and for heresyes that he hadde vttred both by prechynge and wrytyng, stādyng in daunger of the Dukes attachiament / [Page] he ranne awaye pryuely wyth a nonne of the place / whō sone after he forsoke, and gathym for refuge to a Lutheran prince named Fraunces de Sych­ken, a noble personage by byrthe, but a cruell tyraunte of behaueour, a great murtherer, a comune spoyler of marchaūts and a rouere of hygh wayes / whiche mayntenyd hym and one Hutten a knyghte of the new gospell, gyuē holly to mischefe / till at the lest for feare of displeasure of other princes he was dryuen to put thē awaye. Oecolampadius cam then to Basyle / & there he founde ma­ny fauourers of M. Luthers faccyō: by whose ayde he was promotyd to be curate of a paryshe chyrche. where he hand­led [Page] hys matters wyth such clokyd hypocrisye, that he wān [...] many mennes hartes / craftely so wenge sedicious disturbaūs betwy [...]e the temporalte & the spiritualtye / in such wyse that the hole cite was often tymes in parell of insurreccyon and in daunger to be destroyed. But though he approuyd the oppynyō o [...] Swynglius with preferrement aboue Carolstadius: yet cōceyued he another pryuate vnderstandyng / say­enge y^t Ho [...] est corpus meū, o [...]ght thus to be interpreted: this is a fygure or a representacyon of my body / allegynge Tertul [...]ane, Chrisostome & saynt Austen for hys authorite, whom he vnderstandyth a mysse and recyteth falsly / somtyme ad­dyng [Page] more to theyr wordes, somtyme takynge awaye frō theyr sentēcyes. In this space Martyn Luther wrote a con­uycyous boke agaynst Carol­stadius / and he an answere to the same of lyke spyryte and semblable charyte / so y^t Swinglius and his cōpany whyles other men wondred at theyr madnes, laughed them bothe to scorne. Earolstadius perceyuynge y^t he was not so hyghly estemyd as he reckened to ha­ue bene / also longynge very sore for the companye of hys yonge wyfe: at laste he made meanes to be recōcyled agayn to Martyn Luther and hys churche, whiche was graūtyd hym vpon condycyon that he shulde reuoke his opynyon of [Page] y^e sacramēt / wherto he agreed albeit he helde not longe to w­che with them. But as sone as he had recoueryd his wyfe a­gain, he gat him owt of y^e way in to a vilage & there kept a comune tauerne / besely vttryng his olde heresyes, and daylye contryuynge newe. Thus in Germany moch vnquyetnesse encreasyd and trouble out of measure / with intollerable varyaūce bytwene seculer people and the clergye: many dyffa­mous lybellys & slaunderous wrytynges euery where dys­perpled abrode. And where as was but one faccion before, o­nely of the Lutheranes: than sprāg there vp another / which be callyd Oecolāpadianes or Swynglyanes / owte of whō [Page] yssued also y^e thyrde faccyō na­myd Anabaptystes, cōteyning aboue .xl. sectes of dyuers he­resyes and sondery opynyons

In good fayth ye tell here a shrewde tale by theym. And yf it be trewe as ye reherse I lyke their maners a grete deale worse than I dyd. But specially I merueyle that they be deuyded in to so many faccyons & sondery sectes seynge they pretende to professe the onely doctryne of Cryste, whi­che noryssheth no suche cōten­cyous dyuersyte: for he is the god of peace & not of dyssenciō

I ensure yow ther be in Germany .iii.C. sectes aboue y^e nomber that I haue namyd, of whose varyable opynyons I cowlde partely make reher­sall [Page] yf I had conuenyent oportunyte.

Now I praye yow for the satysfyenge of my cōscyence and of dyuers other whyche perauenture haue ben dyscceyued and brought to er­rours, by the fayned report of thē, whiche wolde dylate theyr heresyes vndernethe the con­lour of vertuous lyuynge, boldely affyrmyng in reproche of our catholike byleue y^t among them is perfyte peace, cōcord, true loue & charyte, freely ad­mynystred to euery one in ne­cessyte withoute respect of persons. But fyrste I wolde y^t ye declared somwhat of the .iii. prīcypall faccyōs.

The fyrste as I haue shewed you are callyd Lutheranes, bycause they folowe Luthers doctryne. [Page] The seconde lyke wyse are callyd Oecolampadyanes or Swynglyanes / & are as one with the Lutheranes in ray­lynge agaynst the cleargye, & in cōtempnyng the authoryte of the chyrche, but in the sacrament of the aultar they be gretely repugnaunt: and so farre at varyaunce / that they haue made large volumes full of owtragious furies one agaīst another / in such vncharytable maner that it excedith the blasphemous contencyons of all heretykes and infideles that euer were before our dayes. ye theyr hatefull enemyte is so malycyous, that yf any of the Oecolampadyanes resorte a­monge the Lutheranes: they shalbe excōmunycatyd as he­then [Page] persones, and fynde very small charyte, whiche they call loue after the newe interpretacyon. And in lyke maner y^e Lutheranes shall fynde as lytle fauour amonge the Oecolampadyanes. The thyrde faccyō be callyd Anabaptistes, because they are twyes chrystened / & wyll admytte [...]one as theyr faythfull brotherē except they be rebaptyzed agayne. They suffre not theyr chyldren to be chrystened vntyll they be of greate age / and haue many straunge opynyons. They af­fyrme that it is impossyble for kynges, prynces, iustices, and other gouernours of y^e comon weale, to be chrystē men. They obstynatly hold that yt is vn­lawfull for a iudge to requyre [Page] any othe of a crystē mā. They saye that chrysten men ought to make no prouysyon nor re­sistence agayns theyr enemies but frely suffre thē to do theyr wyll. Also they shew holye perfeccion outwardly / obseruing vigyles, fastynges, wyth con­tynuall redynge of scrypture, redye to helpe theyr nedy bro­theren, vsyng theyr goodes in comoue. And they disprayse mych the lyuyng of the Lutheranes & Oecolampadyās / sayenge as I haue hard them my self reporte, that they be wors than the clergye / whom they call Papistes, for because they haue the gospell in theyr mouthes and frame theyr lyues no thynge thereafter / shewynge none amēdment of theyr lewd [Page] conuersacyō, but cōtynue styll in vycyous excessys after the comone rate of mysbeleuers. And therefore they be in gre­uous hatred and suffre moche persecucyon of the other / as excommunycacyon, exyle, enprysonement, & oftentymes cruell execucyō of death: in so moche that it is enacted throwgh out Suytzerland among y^e Oeco­lampadyaes, and in dyuers other places / that who so euer is found of the Anabaptystes faccyon / he shall be throwen quycke in to the water & there drownyd.

I se well thā sayenge and doeng are not all one. For I am enformed that Martyn Luther hath wryten extremely agaynst the persecucyon of prelates / affyrmynge [Page] yt to be agaynst the spyryte of god to persecute or to putte to death for vnbelefe or errours / consyderyng that fayth (as he doth saye) is a gyfte of god / & no man maye haue yt of hym selfe. Also because Christe ne­uer compellyd any man to be­leue in hym, cōmaūdynge the wedes to be suffered amonge the corne vntyll the heruest cō myth.

No fayle he wrote so at the beginnyng / but afterwarde experiēce tawght hym the contrarye. For if so be that he & y^e Oecolampadyanes had permittyd theyr clyentes to do what they lusted wythout any restraynte: they had ben quite oute of auctorite ere this tyme a daye. [...]pon whych consideracyon yt was forfendyd in all [Page] cyties and iurisdyccyones of y^e Lutheranes / that no mā shuld bye or sell other resceyue, any booke or treatise compyled by the Oecolampadyanes. And they in lyke maner made actes to suppresse y^e Anabaptystes / fearyng left theyr sectes shuld vaynquesshe theyre faccyon.

yf y^e Anabaptystes haue so many sectes as ye recyte, I praye yowe to declare some of them.

At your instaunce I shall gladly. There be some whych hold opynyon that all deuylles & dānyd sowles shall be sauyd at the daye of dome. Some of them persuade that the serpent whyche dysceyued Eue was Christ. Some of thē zraunt to euery man and wo­man [Page] two soules. Some affyr­me lecherye to be no synne, & y^e one maye vse a nother mānes wyfe withoute offence. Some take apon them to be sooth sa­yers and prophetes of wōderfull thynges to come / & haue prophecyed the daye of iudgement to be at hāde: some with in thre monethes, some wyth in one moneth, some wythin vi. dayes. Some of thē bothe men and women at theyre congregacyones for a mysterye shew them selfes naked, affyrmyng that they be in the state of innocencye. Also some hold that no mā ought to be punysshed or suffere execucyon for any cryme or trespace be yt neuer so horryble, wherof I will shew yow an exāple done mater [Page] in dede. In Switzerland a lytle frō saynt Gall at a place namyd Cella Abbatis; one of these anabaptystes slew hys owne brother / & smote of his heade. when he was demaūdyd why he dyd so, this was hys an­swer: It was the wyll of the father that I shuld do yt / and so he escaped wythout punysshement. For though they be gredy īreprouīg other mēnes fawtes / makynge haynous exclamacyones agaynst thē: yet ponder they full lytle the cor­reccyon of theyr owne enormityes / callynge them infyrmy­teis and weaknes of y^e flesshe be they neuer so abhomynable

well yet me thynketh by your sayenge here before, that many of them leade a more cō mēdable [Page] life in face of y^e world than the comone sorte of y^e Lutheranes or Oecolāpadianes,

ye verely vnto the out­warde ostentacyon. But there cōmeth greater incouenyence by theym whych haue suche a shadowe of holy lyuyng, than by the other. And there is no­thyng more peryllous in seducynge the symple / than a payntyd pretence of an holye lyfe / where as they swerue ones frō the ryght fayth and catholyke belefe. whyche ys easye to be proued by euydent examples as well of the olde heretykes, as of oure newe captaynes of the moste hye heresyes. And to shew you the truth as I haue expertely foūde, some I haue knowen so angelyke of cōuersacyon, [Page] y^t I coude haue foū [...]e in my harte to commytte my soule holly in to theyr direccyon: whom afterward I haue perfytely perceyued to be auctours of suche detestable heresyes /that it wold make a cristē harte to tremble for to here thē onis namyd. And to tel you of one amonge many / I was a­quaynted wyth a certeyn per­sone of the Oecolampadyans in y^e cytie of Argentyne, which led a lyfe inculpable amonge hys neyghbours, & was reputed of vertuous conuersacyon exercysynge hym selfe conty­nually in charytable workes, and vnderstode fresshly y^e scryptures in his mother tounge, for he was ignoran̄t of latine. Afterwarde he fell in to so ab­hominable [Page] heresye / that he denyed openly the new testamēt, sayenge y^t Chryste was a fals prophete, and all his apostles dysceuers, acceptyng no parte of the olde testament but the v. bookes of Moyses. The chefe prechers and lerned mē of the cyte cam vnto hym for to reforme hym by waye of di­sputacyon, and to brynge hym from his errour / requyrynge hym to shew what grounde of scrypture or what occasyō moued hym to take so peryllous [...]pynyon. To whom he answe [...]ed coldly wyth soft wordes & [...]emure countenaunce, how he wolde nother dyspute nor ar­gue wyth them, sayenge that [...]t was his belefe & was assurid of god with witnesse of his conscyence [Page] to be trewe. Apon this incōtynēte he was enprysoned and at last brought before the lordes of the towne / whiche in lyke maner exhorted hym to reuoke his heresyes / mana­cynge hym with feare of terry­ble deth yf he wolde not chaū ge hys erronyous mynde. He answered that he was redy to suffre what so euer deth god had ordeyned hym vnto, and wolde nother for feare nor for fauour go from his opynyon. wherfore after a suffycyent delyberacyon seynge he wolde tourne by no meanes / sentens was gyuen that he shulde be burnyd.

In good fayth well worthy: but was he bur­nyd in dede?

No. For when he shulde haue gone to [Page] the place of execucyon / accor­dynge to the vsaunce of the countrye he was fyrst brought before the towne howse / and there hys artycles recyted. He was asked whether they were the very same which he hadde affermyd before them. He an­swered ye. Howbeit nowe (he sayd) god hath openyd my ig­noraunce, & I aknowlege me slaunderously to haue erryd askynge yow all forgyuenes. I byleue perfytely that Iesus Chryst is my sauyour, and am redy in his fayth to suffre this deth prepared for me. The lordes then where as they had gyuen sentence that he shoulde haue ben burnid / for a more easy [...]eth they assyned hym to be be [...]edyd, wherof he thanked thē, [Page] and went toward the place of iustyce / pacyently takyng hys deth with great repentaunce.

Thys may be a good admonysshemēt that men shulde not be so wauerynge in fayth / as to gyue credence in all thinges to any persone for y^e onely pretēce of exteryoure holines, in as moche as the deuyll can transfygure hym selfe in to an angels likenes, and a fals peruerter take vppon hym y^e offyce of a trewe apostle. Moreo­uer I consyder by your cōmu­nycacyon and playne expery­ence here rehersyd / that yf the froward sturdynes of vnruly people were not restreyned by lawes, prohybycyōs, & sharpe punys [...]hemētes / euery comone weale wolde be soone subuer­tyd, [Page] and the hole world come to nought.

As for that ye may take example natferrehens at y^e countye of Emdone in east Fryse lande / where the erle ruler of the county fyrstle resceyuyng Martyn Luthers doctryne, & afterwarde Oeco­lampadins opynyon: suffryd his peple to rede all maner of bookes, and to be of what soeuer secte or opynyō they wol­de without any restreynte. Shortely after one of theyr chefe preachers whiche hadde bene a freer obseruāte, a man of subtyle lernynge and plea­saunte speche, hyghly estemyd amonge the people: began to preache in open audyence a­gainst the blyssed trynyte / say­enge that there was but one [Page] persone, one god, & that our sauyoure Chryst was a crea­ture as we are, a pure man, & not god but hauynge goddes spyryte. This caused not a lyttell dyscorde betwene the pre­chers and the peple / for many of y^e coūtrye leanyd vnto him, takynge hys parte so strongly that the erle was fayne to ba­nysshe hym owte of hys domynyon, all beit hys pestyferous sede remayned styll [...] Thē cam thyther doctor Baltazar, and after hym Carolstadiꝰ / bryn­gynge in the fac [...]yon of y^e Anabaptistes / to y^e augmenting of greater cōfusyō. For where as some crystenyd theyr chyldrē, theyr next neyghbours wolde not / one condemnyng another with dedly hatred. The meane [Page] season a certeyne skynner of Denmarcke in the dukdome of Holsacye, where Martyn Luthers doctryne was onely in strength / prechyd Oecolampadius opynyō with so crafty argumentes, that Martynes faine began to decreace. wherfore doctour Pomerane was sent from wyttenberge to dy­spute agaynst hym / and in conclusyon obtayned the vyctory through parcyall fauoure (as some reportyd) of y^e duke and lordes of the cyteys of Hom­burgh and Breame: whiche immedyatly cōmaundyd that no man shulde be so hardye to contrarye or swerue from the doctryne of Martyn Luther, vnder payne of banysshynge and other [...]unysshement. Thē [Page] two prechers of Breame were sent to Emdone to dyswade y^e erle & hys people from Oeco­lampadius opynyon, and frō the confuse dyuersyte of other sectes / also to reduce theym a­gayne vnto Martyn Luthers wayes. The erle with hys coū cell at ther perswasyons alye­natyd theyr myndes frō Oecolampadiꝰ / streytely chargyng all those prechers whiche had susteynyd his faccyon, or any other sauynge Martyn Lu­thers / to departe owt of hys countrye by a certeyne daye apoynted. Then was it a wonder to se what murmuracyon, grudge, and rumour of sedy­cyon was amonge the people / not without lykelyhed of fal­lynge togyther by the eares & [Page] insurreccyon agaynste theyr prynce, had not he sought prouydēt meanes to pacyfye thē. Thys cōtynued no lōge space but letters came from Argen­tyne, Basyle, zyricke, Bearne, and from many persons of notable erudycyon after theyr e­stemyng, also from the prynce of Hesse / aduertysynge y^e erle with seryous exhortacyon, to calle home agayne y^e prechers of Oecolampadius faccyon / & reprehendyng hys sodayn mutabylyte from theyr institute, so apparent by manyfest con­iectures to preuayle aboue y^e other. At whose importune requestes and subtyle instygacyons, he chaunged yet agayne hys purpose, and gaue the Oecolampadyane prechers lycēs [Page] to returne in to theyr olde pla­ces, and liberte to preache as they were before accustomed: cōmaundyng sylence vnto the other or ellys auoydaunce of his countrye. [...]o thus may ye se what varyable inconstaūcy and sondrye mutacious of condemnyd heresyes hath ensued with euydent confusyō, where as people be dyuided from the vnyte of y^e chrysten chyrche, & contemne to walke after the holsome decre [...]s of catholyke fathers / wrestynge the ryght sence of scryptures vnto theyr crooked ymaginacyons. And specially where the brydle of sensualyte is sett at large / to y^e sturdye frowardnes of sediey­ous subiectes, somtyme by y^e [...]ffemynat tēdernes of princes [Page] so negligētly regardid / y^t afterward theyr fearfull rygour is scantable to redresse it: which hath bene y^e lamentable dekay of y^e Boemes, and is now the ruynous myschefe of the hye Almaynes / not vnlykely to be the desolaciō of crystendome, yf remedy be not founde in season.

Sauynge your pacyence me thought ye declared here y^t the Lādgraue of Hesse is a fauourer of Swinglius & Oecolampadius / who wyth his people as I vnderstande admytteth Martyne Luthers wayes and none other.

I will not denye but he maynteneth styll Martyn Luthers doctrine / all be yt syns the dyspotacyon was before hym, he hath fauoured so greatly the [Page] opynyon of Oecolampadius and Swinglius, y^t were it not as I deme for feare of displeasynge hys confederate cosyne the duke of Saxony, and frentyke perturbacion of Martyn Luther / he wolde haue sustayned yt openly ere this tyme. wytnesse the gloryous comendacyō vnto theyr faces whiles they were present / and synguler preferremēt of thē amonge hys famylyer coūsellers / also hys beneuolent lyberalyte at theyr departynge wyth letters afterward betwyxe thē farsydfull of paynted prayses ī theyr absence.

I beseche yow when and vnder what maner was this dysputacion.

In the yere of our lord .1528. the prince of Hesse in his chefe [Page] cyte of Marburge caused the­re to be assēbled Martine Lu­ther Melancton, Oecolāpadius, Swynglius, Capito, Butzer wyth many other of y^e most famous clerkes of the Lutheranes and Oecolampadyans (y^e Anabaptystes onely exclu­dyd) where dyuers artycles were doutfully proponyd to y^e nomber of .xv. whyche before tyme had bene dyscussyd & clerelye determyned in generall counselles of the vnyuersall chyrch. And when they had by longe ꝓ [...]cesse vnfrutefully dysputed aboute the iustifycacion of fayth without good work [...]: of baptyme, and other questyons apon whych they had wryten hole bookes: yet in y^e ende were they dryuē to the olde determinacyō [Page] of the chyrch, saue les [...]e theyre wrytynges shulde seme in vayne, & theyr assem­blynge to be ydle / they founde out some contrariety of so slender importancye, that mē may playnely iudge in them, other inuyncyble arrogance dysdaynynge to be reformed / or elles obstynate malyce sekynge for the nonis of impugne y^e troth. [...]oncernynge the sacramēt of the altare wherin rested y^e princypall mater of theyre disputacyon / they greatly varyed and coude by no meanes agree. How beyt they concludyd attelast, that eche parte holdynge them contente wyth theyre be lefe / shuld departe in louynge frendshyppe, without any odyous writyng frō thence forthe [Page] one agaynste a nother.

whether of them obtayned the vyctory?

They deuided yt betwene theym whyle they were presente. But sone after theyr departyng, the Lutheranes ascribed it to Martyn Luther / and contrarye the Oeco­lampadyanes vnto Oecolampadyus and Swynglyus.

vse they suche craftye con­ueyauns in promotyng theyr gospell?

ye hardely▪ and y^t wythowt any shame wh [...] they be detected of ytt / [...] syng mē agaynst theyr [...] to be fautours of theyr [...]. Dyd not Nouioma [...] gather certayne sentencys out of Erasmus workes, whych falsly depraued he coupled vnto Martyn Luthers [...], [Page] and caused them to be imprynted: blasing abrode that Erasmus and Luther were of one opynyon / to the slaunderous hynderaunce of hys [...]fytable studye? of whom after muche other detraccyon / he was not ashamed to craue subsedye in hys beggarly indygence. Also Butzer playd a lyke pageante wyth Pomerane in translatīg hys psalter out of latyne into the almayn tonge. For where he aspyed any occasyō to treat of the blyssed sacramente: he plucked out Pomeranes sētē ­ces, and graffed in hys own after no compendyous fassyon: which as sone as they were enprynted / the fame noysed ouer all y^t Pomerane (vnknowyng to hym) was one wyth the Oecolampadeans / [Page] whych after­warde he apertely detestyd in dyuers epystles, dyscoueryng the falsehod of Butzer. Such suttyll dryftes I may tell you among them is dayly not vn­practysed.

well, ye haue here rehersed many thynges agaynst them / wherin yf I and such other wold gyue credēce vnto your saynges wythoute surmyse of ꝑ [...]cyalyte, we shuld sone turne our affeccyon from theyr lernyng. But seyng ye haue bene a fauourer of thē, and paraduenture bothe spo­ken and written as largely as the rankest of them all whom ye now call heretykes: fayne wolde I wyt what mocyonyd yow to take yt in hande so er­nestly, and now to shyft your [Page] selfe [...] yt so lyghtely.

To shew you the trothe w [...]thowt dyssymulacyon how I was entyced vnto theyr fac­cy [...]ne, the verye begynnynge was thys. I had redde certayn treatyses of Martyne Luther of the iustyfycacyon onely by fayth wythowt good dedes, / how man had no fre wyll, how owre good warkes auaylled vs nothynge to be sauyd, no­ther our yll dedys shuld cause vs to be damned, and many o­ther artycles whych he falsely presumed to groūd vppon scripture [...] Also I dylygently no­tyd howe he descrybed the a­buses of popys, cardynallys, byshoppys, preestys and rely­gyous persones / declarynge how the present dekay of the [Page] church, farre dyffered from the perfeccyon of the apostles and holy fathers at the furst begin [...]yng: wherin he made no lye though in other thīges he spa­red the trouthe. Furthermore geuyng eare to the plesaūt ru­mours of hys reformacyons, highly cōmēded amōg new fā gled people: yt sett myne hart so on fire, y^t I coud not rest vntyll I had bene there with thē. After that I had sene Martin Luther, Poinerane, Melanc­ton, & herd theyr prechynges / perceyuynge theyr order there in Saxonye: I went in to hye Almayne vnto the Oecolampadyanes / & remaynyng there amonge theym, was oftenty­mes conuersaūte with y^e Anabaptistes. In the meane space [Page] I sawe many wonderfull alteracyons / as destroyeng of monasteryes, pluckyng down of churches, castynge out of ymages, breakynge of aultares, & caryeng the consecrate stones to the buyldynge of theyr bull warkes / also maryages of prestes, monkes, freres, nonnes, contempte of holy dayes, anul [...]ynge of vygyles, fastynge of the lent and embrynge dayes clene reiecte with other laudable ordynaunces instytute by the churche▪ [...]ll places of scripture where mencyon is made of Antichryst, fals prophetes, maysters of lyes, & such other / they violently applyed vnto y^e clergye / namynge them selfe crystene brotherne, dyscyples of Cryste and apostles of hys [Page] gospell. In denyenge purg [...] ­torye and auctoryte of y^e pope, yf they found in auncyent a [...] ­ctours as moch as a corrupte tytle of a pystle so wnynge any thyng to theyr purpose, all be it the epystle selfe made hole agaynst it: yet wold they take it as the worde of god & sure reuelacyon of the spyryte. Contrarye wyse, yf any alledgyd Austyn, Hierome, Cypryane, or Chrysostome agaynst them they wolde admytte theyr sen­tencys for none auctoryte / sayenge they were men, & all men were lyers. In lyke maner concernyng the sacrament of the aultare, where they redde in doctours of the spyrytuall ea­tynge and goostely beynge: they onely acceptyd that / and [Page] vnder the coloure therof they wolde exclude the corporall eatynge and bodely presence of Chryst, to the establysshyng of theyr blasphemous errors: whiche they shadowyd vnder the couert of hypocrysye and persuasyōs of peruertyd scryptures / in suche wyse that opē ­ly seyng I coude not perceyue them, vntyll it pleasyd god of hys inestymable goodnes to brynge me out of the lande of darcknes and regyon of deth, vnto the clerenes of his knowlege & lyuyng lyght of trothe. I can not excuse me but amōg the wycked I endeuored my selfe to haue done euyll: but god so mercyfully preuentyd me / that it came to small effect in▪ doynge any harme. If I [Page] haue bene occasiō of any mannes fall or cause of slaunder / I am sorye for yt and aske forgeuenes. Not wythstandynge I neuer defendyd any opynyō obstynatly, nother despysed y^e admonycyon of any vertuous ꝑson: that I haue erred was through ygnorance and of no malicious pertynacyte. where ye be in perplexyte of credence geuyng vnto my wordes / I ā sure if that I spake according to your appetyte, ye wold put no dyffydence in me whether I sayd y^e veryte or lyed: for yt ys a playne case amonge the fauorers of these new sectes / y^t they wyll refuse no forged tales makyng a wght for theyr syde, be they neuer fo fals. And seing ye beleuyd me in errour: [Page] ye oughte not to mystrust me nowe in my faythfull re [...]oca­cyon, volūtarye and not coat­tyd.

Cler [...]ly many men presuppose that other ye be de­ludyd by y^e flatteryng perswa­syon of some worldly persōs / or ells vtterly geue [...] in to a re­probate mynde / through gre­dy desyre of yerthely promo­cyon and appetyte of ydle ly­uynge.

It ys not in my power to stoppe y^e wronge sur­myse or mysse reporte agaynst me, now enemye vnto theyr errours: whyles they abuse the same to y^e frendes of theyr he­resyes: namely where as Sa­thane ys loosed at large, & the lyenge goste the spyryte of vn­trueth, walkyth at lyberty vn­ [...]streynede. wolde god they [Page] we [...]e as pr [...]st to remoue y^e [...] out of theyr own eyes / as they be prōpt to aspye a lytell mo [...]e­is other mēny [...]. They crye out sore vppon the worldely wys­dome and carnall prudence of other ꝑsons, callynge them ty­ran [...]ys and mynysters of An­te [...]yste / where as I cā ꝑceyue none more gredy of carnall polycyes and fleshly ayde of tyrā tys than they be. [...]ere he ne­uer so cruell a creature or myscheuous fende that is turnyd to theyr facciōs / they re [...]ceyue hym for an euangelyke dys [...]y [...]e, hys malycyo [...]s mynde nothyng mynyshed, all thoughe ꝑase hys doynge of myschef [...] ys [...]estrayned by poue [...]tye or some other myserable impedyment agaynst hys [...] [Page] any body speke ought against such peruerse penytetys / forth wyth they alege y^e vnpytyous fie [...]ines of saynt Paule before hys conuersyon, the synnes of Mary Magdalene and her penaūce, also y^e example of Cryst receyuyng publycanes & syn­ners, and how the angellys of heuen ioy more vppon one penytēt synner &c. [...]ce. 15. I pray yowe what a gostely patrone was Huttē theyr furyous chā pyon / a man nott onely ouer­whelmyd wythe heresyes, but also stuffed full of all vnhappines / whose horryble ende was accordyng to his myscheuous lyfe. For after that he had bene plaged with y^e french pokkys, and was helyd of them seuen sondry tymes: he myserably [Page] dyed of them in an yle of Swicherlād in extreme pouerte ab­horred of all people / hys vyle carcas eaten wyth sores, more stynkyng than any caryon / so that vnneth any body myghte abyde the lothsome staunch of yt. More ouer I beseche you wyth what crysten spyryte dyd Fraunces of Syckhym defēd thē, a subuerter of peas, a burner of poore mennes houses, & a troubler of all Germany / vppon whom the vengeaunce of god dyd lyghte, and was so­denly slayn in a castell besyde Crutzynacke to the infamy of hys aūceters and disherytaūce of hys chyldern. I passe ouer the captayns of the vplandysh people and theyr insurreccyon partely touched before.

[Page] ye wot well ynough that Martyn Luther dyd wryte agaynst them, condemnyng theyr sedy cyous enterpryse.

So dyd he in dede when yt was to late voyde of remedy. But as long as they were in any lykly hod to preuayle / he rather sup­ported thē. what heuenly wysdome dyd the monstruous fy­gures sygnyfy / where M. Lu­ther was portred wyth a boke in hys hand, & by hym Hutten hys ꝓtectour in complete har­nes holdyng a drawen sword / with certayn textis vnderneth prouokyng sedycyon. And as for ydlenes / I sawe no manne more fawty in yt than them selfes: except ye account that for profytable bysynes when they be nother ydle nor well occupied. [Page] Are there not a great infynyte nomber amonge them, y^t can say sharpely to other men­nys chargys the cōmaūdemēt of god gyuen to Adam: In swete of thy face thou shalt ete thy brede / & dylygently repete y^e laborous workyng of saynte Paule and other dyscyples of Cryste, whych lyue dylycately in ydlenes? And suppose ye y^t a man may not fynde many of them whych haue theyr susten tacyon vppō the spoyle of churches, robbery of monestaryes, and extorcyon of innocent people?

Thoughe some of thē be of such disposycion: yet ought not ye to condemne, the ho [...]e nomber of the good for a small some of the yuell

why do ye then dispyse the vniuersall [Page] churche / because some of them be nought▪

Mary for because the more some of the yuell, surmountythe the lesse nōber of the good.

And thynke yowe that yt may not be better verefyed among the new gospellers, of y^t which the best ys stark nought? Notwythstandynge some I haue knowē of excellent lyterature, whych for theyr sober cōuersacyon and temperate lyuyng, if they hadde bene as seryous in furtherynge the fayth as they were in settyng forthe of here­sies / were worthy to be pillers of Crystes chyrch. But I pon­der not so greatly the outward holynes of hypocrytes / consy­deryng that Arrius, Ma [...]iche us, Pellagius, & other execra­ble [Page] heretykes euen as they b [...] equall wyth them in heresyes / so were they not inferyours to them in such hypocrysy. How many here in Englond wythin thys .C. yere haue rydde them selfys out of thys mortall lyfe wythe a desperate dethe hated both to god & man / some drownyng thē selfys, some cuttyng theyr own throtes, and many hangyng them selfys / whyche in theyr lyfe tyme haue bene reputed for well dysposed, vertuous, & charytable folke aboue the comon sorte of crysten [...] people / & peraduenture some here in Londō of oure olde aquayntaunce. In whom is fulfylled the [...] sayng of Samuell: [...] marketh those thinges that [...] open to the eye, but god con [...] ­deryth [Page] the secretnes of y^e hart [...] to the verefyenge of Crystys worde in the gospell [...]uce. 17 [...] That whych is hyghly auaunced of men / is abhominable in the syghte of god. Neuerthelesse yf ye go to the vttermost: I coud appoynt ye to many of the church, whych accomplysh the perfeccyō of lyuyng vnfaynedly / wherof these men afore sayd haue but a bareyn p̄tenc [...] or a domb symylytude. And as for the worst multytude of prestys, monkes, chanons, freers and other relygyous persons / I dare compare theym wythe the comon sorte generally of these new faccions / all though ye put a part theyr fayth & obedyēce to y^e church, whych I re­ [...]en no small mater.

So [Page] god help me then dare I gyue y^e verdyte wythout any quest, that they be stark noughte all the meyny of them. And to beginne furst of all at the freers / ye se what a rascall rable ron­neth abowte the cuntrey wyth bosomed sermons, preachyng fables and olde wyues tales in stede of the worde of god / whych ar redy matys to associate vnthriftes in all myschefe, to the slaunder of crysten rely­gyon. And to speke of mōkes, chanōs, wyth other relygyous possessyoners / I praye yowe what a gostely lyfe leade they, geuen holly to s [...]outhfull ydlenes and bely ioy in etynge and drynkyng, wythowte study of scrypture or endeuermēnte of any vertnouse excercise. Th [...]y [Page] syng in theyr querys wyth as great deuocion, as hunters do at the halowyng of a foxe / hauyng delite in yellyng of theyr voyces and cryeng of organs, but no swetnes of spyrytuall melody. Also seculer preestes euē as bad as the best, shall ye not fynde theym at tauernes & dyshonest housys, drynkyng & gowsyng tyll they be as dronken as apes / nothing abashed to swere blasphemous othes & to vse fylthy cōmunycacyon. And such as be curates hauīg charge of mennes sowles, are there not many of thē blynder that betles / destitute of necessary doctrine with good lyuing, whereby theye myghte edyfye theyre parysshons. It were to [...]edyous a processe to reherse [Page] theyr wrechydnes so farre ou [...] of order / whych all the worlde perceyueth & speketh agaynst it, and yet can be none amendement.

If theyr wrecthidnes of lyuyng as ye say be manyfest to all the world: it shall not be so nedefull for yowe to declare any further therof / as yt wyll be expedyente for me to tell of these new gospellers, whose erronyous wyckednes is knowen to very few here in this region. And surely to improue the vniuersall churche as iuell, because many of them belewde: it were no lesse madnes than to sette at nought the olde testamēt, because y^e more parte of the childern of Israell were euill / other to dispise the gospell because all these newe [Page] facciōs which falsely presume to be folowers of it, are heretikes. Amōg whō ye shall fynde [...]enegate freers that haue cast of theyr habytes and forsakyn theyre relygyon, whyche haue maryed wyues and sone after scape away fro theym, leauing theym in carefull desolacyon / ye some one maryeng .ii. or .iii. wyues in dyuers countreys, whome they haue dysceyuyde by craftye entycementys / ma­kyng theym beleue with theyr gorgeous apparayle that they [...]e cōe of noble & ryche frēdes. And of these are there many which walk ouer sondry ꝓuinces, with glosynge speche and swete tales / spieng owt vnstable people y^t will be waueryng with euery winde / and such a [...] [Page] theyr stomackes [...]erue them to contemne fastynges and prayers, desyrous of carnall lybertie, and can rayle agaynste the clergy, caring for no iurisdicc [...] on / and when suche vnlawfull menes fayll, giue them selfes to thefte, robbing of churches and sedycyous dysturbaunce / whereby some of them are promoted to the galows & shamefull marterdome of felons. Lykewise apostata monkes & [...]hanons peruerted vnto theyr fectes, some bring with thē as much substaunce of the spoyle of theyre places, that they purchase therwith fayre landes & yerely rentes. Also preestes y^t haue made cheuesaūce of their benefices for .ii. or .iii.C. poundes / at whose comming it is [Page] worlde to here howe god ys mangnyfyede for theyr dely­nerance frome the tyranny (as they call yt) of Antycryste / and what brotherly chere ys made with feruēt reioyce ī y^e sustrāce of Crystes crosse, namelye yf they haue store of monye. And sone after they are prouydyd of fayre wyues in safegarde of theyr chastyte, and to augmēt theyr perfeccyō / wherby some of theym chaunce to be so ve­xyd wyth deuylles, that theyr gospell ys not able to charme theym / and are fayne to sonne awaye in lyberty of the lorde, ere that theyr wyues be made faste in y^e bondes of oure lady.

Besyde these, howe many in Germany haue annuall pensi [...]ns of cyties and townes for [Page] tearme of lyfe, bownde to no maner of serues / whose chāge of state is to no renuyng of spi­rituall conuersaciō, but rather an vnsacyat luste of fleshly fredome / euydētly tryed by theyr vycyous behaueoure, ydle ly­uynge, & dysguysed apparayll.

ye maye speke many thynges for your plesure / but ye knowe ryght well, y^e crystyn rely­gyon standyth not in owt­warde raymente, nor I cā not [...]e but as good a soull may be vnder a seculer wede, as in a relygyous vesture. The strāge dyuersyte of habytes is not cō maūded of god / nother scryp­ture ascribeth any holynes vnto thē.

In good fayth I speke of truth & not of plesure For it is to me mych dysplea­sure [Page] to se thē suche as I se thē / not in theyr dysguysed clothīg onely▪ full farre vnsemely for them, if they were eyther suche as they were before, or such as they now call theym selfe / but ouer that in euery kynde of all dysordered lyuyng: whych ye let passe, as though I had foū ­den no faut but wyth theyr clothynge. And agaynste that ye seme to set at nought the habytes and fassyons of religyouse people / callyng them straunge dyuersytees & thingis nought worth, because they be not cō ­maunded of god, nor that scrypture ascrybeth no holynes in them. But as for strangnes of apparell, relygyouse men vse none. But theyr apparell was at the furst deuysed by such as [Page] they that now hate relyg [...]ō, do not yet denye for holy blessed men. And now they cannot be straunge, when they contynew styll euery order hys olde fassyon, and that all y^e worlde hath loked vppon them, and amōg a thousand freers none go better appareled then an other. But now vnto the tother syde, these that rōne away from thē vnto these Lutherans / they go I say dysguysed strangely frō that theye were before, in gay [...]agged cotes, and cut and scotched hosen, very syghtely for­sothe, but yet not very semely for such folk as they were and shulde be. And thys apparell change they dayly, from fassyō to fassiō euery day worse than other / their new fangled foly & [Page] theyr wāton pryde neuer cōt [...] nor satys [...]yede. And where ye set at nought all strange diuer syte of habytes, in whyche ye meane I wote well not onely religyouse mennes apparell / but also the garmentys worne in diuyne seruyce, for therin I knowe youre mynde of olde: I say these gere were well or­dered by good men, & not with owt y^e good helpe of god. And ye can not fynde that they be dyssalowed of god, but rather approuyd / in as moche as he in y^e olde testament appoynted vnto y^e prestes and mynysters a seuerall dystynccyō of appa­rayle frome the comone peple, specyally in theyr mynystracy­ōs▪ Also yt appereth by y^e story of y^e prophete Heliseus, whom [Page] [...] chyldren of Bethell mocky [...] and wondred▪ apon / y^t he was not clothyd after theyr comen fassyon. And veryly I holde it more cōuenyēt for relygyouse persons to were y^e habytes by theyre fore fathers in [...]ytute / than to be arayed after the ruffyan inuencyon of many gos­pellers in Germany.

All these ar but blynde reasons of your own fantasy, nothyng to the purpose. The orygynall in [...]ytucyon of relygyous haby­tes began vppon certayn con­syderacyons. As thus: when holy fathers lyued in wylder­nes / they made theyr garmen­tes after a fassyon that myght best defend the sharp stormes and yll wethers. And some y^t gaue them selfys to bodely la­bour, [Page] contryued theyr clothes to be shapē in a most hansome maner to worke in. Also some of them wyllyng to exchew su­perfluytye of vesture / deuysed theym habytes moste apte for warmeth & sparyng of clothe. But now these consyderacyōs faylyng: to were the habytes of them / & not to folowe theyr example, me thynketh yt mere hypocrysye [...]

Then may I say to you agayne after the same forme of argumentacyō. The fyrst inuentours of thys new dysgysed apparayll, were hethen peple / vnthryftes, foo­les, and myslyuyng persons: now ye that be accoūted good crysten people vse the same, where as ye oughte not folow theyr lewdenes / therfore ye be [Page] &c. Notwythstāding I demaū ded ones of a certayn cōpaniō of these sectis whych had bene of a strayt relygyō before, why hys garmentys were nowe so sumptious, all to poūced with gardes and iaggys lyke a rut­te [...] of the launce knyghtys. He answeryd to me that he dyd yt in cōtempte of hypocrysy. why quothe I dothe nott god hate pride the mother of hypocrisy, as well as hypocrysy yt selfe? wherto he made no dyrect an­swer agayne / but in excusyng hys fawt, he sayd y^t god pryn­cypally accepted the mekenes of the hart and inward crysten maners / whych I beleue were so inward in hym, y^t seledome he shewed any of thē outwardly.

I graunted before y^t [Page] there were some lyghte ꝑsons. But what say you to the prouisyon of pore people there, such as ar aged or impotent / & that beggers be not suffred to cra­ue at mēnes doores, nor to loyter ydelly as they do here, but ar set a worke. I tell you some men thynk yf our sturdy mon­kes, chanons, & freers, labored for theyr lyuyng as we lay pe­ople do / y^t it wolde be a meryer world thā now is.

what a mery tyme it wold be here in thys land I am vncertayne / but I am sure that in Germa­ny among these new faccyōs, ys yet but a sory world & lyke to be worse. ye say there be no loytryng begge [...]s, and that is trew / for few or none resorteth thydet becawse they can haue [Page] none almes nor relefe / excepte they wyl do ītollerable seruice for so slender wages / y^t yf they be not of sober dyet, and longe exercysed wyth laboure, it is not possyble for them to away with yt. But what is theyr la­bour? mary pluckyng downe of chyrches and monasteryes, and buyldyng of bulwarkes & wallys to instrēgth theyr to w­ [...]es agaynst them which couet to reforme them. And here is a dowt to be mouyd / when such busynes is endyd, howe shall they be then set a worke, consyderynge that in other occupa­cyons a fewer nomber than be all redy were able to suffyse y^t peple / & so they fynde yt there all redy.

God wyll pro­uyde otherwyse for them than [Page] mannes ymagynacyon can c [...] prehēde.

If theyr wayes lyked hym I wot wel he wold. But sythe yt is no pleasure to hym to se them leue the faythe and fall to heresies, pull down chyrches and bylde vpp bul­warkes agaynst god in defēce of theyr abomynable errours [...] I veryly thynk that the wrath of god wyll worke them ven­geaunce, and sende suche men mych mysery, and abate theyr bulwarkes to the grounde / as he abated the prowde tow [...] of Babylon, when he cōfounded the byelders in to as many tō ­ges as y^e deuyll hath cōfoūded y^e bylders of these bulwarkes ī to many shāefull sectis.

well I trust better. And which of vs is begyled the ende shall [Page] shew. But this here I say that as yet hytherto, where as ye spake of theyre intollerable la­bour: I ā certefyed that they come from it as ioyously as it were from a recreacion.

I blame theym neuer a deale thoughe they be gladde when theyr taske is at an ende.

Nay I meane when theyr hā ­des be full of blaynes and bly­sters, wyth achynge armes, theyr shulders black and blew by reason of heuy burthens: that then they reioyce in suf­fraūce.

They y^t so haue certifyed you I pray you wry­te vnto thē agayne, and praye them to certefye you also how many worketh wyth an euyll wyll for the onely lacke of ly­uynge / and howe many ronne [Page] fro theyr worke & rather chuse to go stele & be hanged to, ra­ther thē to come to so paynfull worcke agayne. And by that tyme that they haue certyfyed you of these two sortys: they shall I warant you certefye of the thyrde tother sorte that are so gladde of suche laboure not fully so many as ye rekē now. And yet I thynke veryly that some suche are there to. And I wolde myche meruayle ellys.

why so?

For I haue knowen ere thys where mē haue bē sore hurt in frays / y^t they whych haue bene sorest wounded haue most reioyced / not in hys harmes but in the praysyngs of other.

who be they y^t shuld prayse so these labourynge folke.

Euen [Page] suche of theyr owne sectys as will not labour thē selfes / whiche ar redyer to ēcorage other mē vnto suffraunce of deth for theyre opynyons, than to ieo­parde them self the leste [...]yppe of theyr ere. But now to your obieccyō / that ye wold prestys, monkys, and freers shulde la­bour as other temporall men do: I holde it expedyent that many of them shulde be better occupyed than they are. Howe be it I haue hard in Germany gre [...]ous complayntes & mur­muracions of hande crafty mē and artyfycers agaynste rely­gyous persons / whyche haue made them selfes worldly, and lerned theyr occupacyons. For through theyr augmentacyō / the proffytable gaynes of occu­pacyons [Page] was mynysshed / and the welth of theyr lyuynge de­cayde, so that many were com­pellyd to seke aduentures in straunge prouincys for defaut of worke at home. Also I haue knowen in the cyte of Colen & in other placys of the low contrey / that relygyous persones in theyr cloysters fyndyng thē selfes with labour of theyr hā ­des, as spynnyng, weyuyng, & makyng of lynnen cloth / haue bene haynous [...]y [...]playned vpō to the lordes and rulers / y^t they toke away the auauntage and lyuynge from the pore comōs & cytezens: wherfore they haue bene restrayned from takynge of temporall peoples worke.

By thys rekenynge sel­dome ys a chaūge for y^e better. [Page] But yet howe faye ye to theyre prouysyon for poore impotent peple?

After my mynde they neuer went about an acte that pretendyde a more god­ly purpose / or a feruenter zele of charytable cōpassyō. whych ordynaūce yf yt had a ꝓgresse of cōtynuaunce as yt had a ly­kelyhode at the begynnynge: were to be alowed and practy­sed of all crysten nacyons. But euery occasion wysely pō deryd wyth dew cyrcūstaūces / it wyll make those y^t be sage to stay at yt & other lyke maters / takyng auysement before, lest they ēterpryse further thē they be able to bryng vnto a lawdable ende. It is y^e very properte of comō peple, namely of these Almayns / that, what, so euer [Page] they be perswaded vnto, agreable to theyr affeccyons / they shall be redy in a sodeyn gyere to accomplysh: regardyng nother damage ne commodyte, though sone after they repent theym. And lyke as the people of Israhell brought the iewellys of theyr wyues & chyldern to the makynge of the golden calfe: so dyd they bryng theyr iewellys, bedys, rynges, owt­ches, wyth mony both golde & syluer, to the comon hutches so haboundantly for thys prouysyon / y^e men dowted in some place whyther they had poore folk suffycyent to consume so excedynge heapys of ryches. But this dout was sone made a playn case: for withī a whyle after the ardente heat of theyr [Page] lyberall deuocy [...] waxyd cold. And because they contynued not styll in bryngynge in theyr oblacyons: the hutches and coffers were emptye ere men wyst yt. Then whyles yt was compassyd what way myghte be best taken for the preserua­cyon of thys ordynaunce, least yt shuld decaye, to theyr confufyon that began yt: some gaue counsell that yt shulde be ne­cessary to depryue the clergye of theyr goodes, and to dystrybute theyr possessions, landes, and rentys amonge lay peple. And to throwe downe all mo­nasteries & churches / makyng coyne of crosses, chalessys and other sacred iewels, for y^e sustē [...]cyon of the poore as they al­legyd. Thys aduyse with ho [...]e [Page] assent of certayne prynces and comonteys was approuyd / af­fyrmynge that yf so infynyte ryches were onys in theyr handys / the reuenewes of great men shuld be so enlargyd, that they shulde nede to rayse no taxys nor lones of the com­mons / but rather cease frome all importable exaccyons. In lyke maner by the same polycy the [...] comons might grow vnto such welthy substaunce: that beggers and nedy people fewe or none shulde be founde among them, whych ought to be called a golden worlde or a tyme of felycyte.

And cā it not so to passe in conclusyō?

No, nor neuer shall I make you assuraunce, for the goodes ar wasted & no mā can [Page] tell how: ye at thys houre the prynces and lordes of y^e cyties a [...]more hungry to pyll & pole then euer they were. The commons also in lesse welth, enduryng more greuous oppressyō then euer they dyd, wythe no fewer myserable persons then they had before / all thinges as out of mesure scarce / eche complaynynge to other of theyr calamyties infortunate without remedy of redresse or hope of a of a b [...]tter chaūge.

Our lord forbede y^t yt shuld chaūce so h [...]re.

yet lacke there no [...] in Englond that wysh full hartely after suche a ruffelyng chaunge / the more parte suche as hope to wyn and haue no­thynge to lese / and yet some so mad that haue of theyr owne, [Page] and why the happely myghte pēt it fyrst of all. I let passe my lord cardynalls act in pullyng down & supp̄ssing of religious places, our lord assoile his soule. I will wrestle wyth no sou­lys: he knoweth by thys tyme whyther he dyd well or euyll. But thys dare I be bolde to saye / that the contreys where they stode fynde suche lacke of them: that they wolde he had let them stāde. And thynk you then that there wold be no lak founden yf y^e remanaunt were so serued to? I wene men wold so sore mysse them that many which speke, agaynst thē / wold sone labour hys owne handys to set them vp agayne.

In good faythe your wordes make me so amasyd, that I cā not [Page] tell what I may say to the mater: I se the lyuynge of the clergye is farre wyde from the doctrine of Cryst & example of thappostles / [...] y^e Lutheranes by your saynge be ī wors case / both destitute of catholik faith & good crysten maners, wyth­out any better lykelyhode ex­cepte by the meanes of a generall reformacyon.

who shuld be the auctours of thys reformacyon?

The pope & either crysten pryncys.

I put case that many of them be as wyde owte of the ryghte waye as the other.

That can ye tell partely concernyng thys popes holynesse / for ye were lately at Rome.

In very dede I herde pyteously of yt by other mēnes report, [Page] but I sawe yt not: & pera [...]uenture I saw the lesse / because I taryed so lytell whyle there. Natwythstādyng yt fortuned me to talke wyth an Italyan / and in our communycacion I spake as I had hard, that the pope and the emperour enten­dyd a reformacyon. whye sayd he they haue begon all redye. I asked him where. Se ye not quod he that they haue destroyed Lombardye, Italye, Na­ples, & also enpouered Fraūce, to the ruynous decay of crystē dome? Beware sayde I what ye speke. yes quod he / for I meane no dyshonoure to theyr hyghnes / for they perfourme the wyll and commaundemēt of god as they of Syrya and Babylone dyd in destroyng y^e [Page] euyll chylderen of Israhell, to thentent the good myght prospere in theyr placys. Mary Qd I that ys clene contrary here / for the good be destroyed and the euyll are encreased / so that neuer in Italye were sene so many vagaboundes, theues, hores, and harlottys, as are in thys present tyme. well sayde he / yf y^e good be rather destro­yed as ye allege, and the euyll are styll reseruyd: yt ys a tokē that they haue escaped wyth an easy scorge the dredefull vē geaunce of god, whych remayneth for these y^e be left behynd. Howbeyt y [...] rede in storyes of the byble, that y^e synfull world was first destroyed before that ryghteous, Noe, was possess [...] [...]r of y^e frutefull yerth, bly [...]ed [Page] of god / and the abomynable cyteys of Sodome & Gomor vterly subuertyd ere vertuous Lothe ascendyd the mount of hys refuge. Also the repro­bate people of Israhell were holly extyncte ere euer theyre elect chyldren entryd the lande of promys. wherfore construe ye as ye please, I feare me that the reformacyon of the worlde shall be wyth the sworde of vē geaunce vppon the people for theyr iniquyte / consyderyng y^e obduracyon of theyr hartys, & harde neckyd stubburnes / not mouyd at the wōderfull tokēs whych dayly pronostycate the wrathe of god to be at hande. wyth thys he shranke awaye & wolde tarye no longer.

Peraduentur he was afrayde [Page] to wade further in the trothe. But beleue me yf ye wyl / wher he spake of the destroynge of euyll people: I wene yf Lutheranys be such as ye make thē, yt were the redyest waye for a reformacyon to kyll vp theym quyte.

I wolde rather wyshe them amēdyd yf yt may be. And as for kyllynge theym in some place yt were no great maistry. But thē in some other placys where wold ye fynde y^e people to do the execucyon?

we shuld lacke none in Englande I warant yow / for there be many of the clargye that wolde be full glad of yt, & marchauntys some, thoughe many be on theyr syde. Also ye myght haue a great sorte of y^e cōmons, and many courtyers, [Page] though some of euery sorte fa­uoure Luthers wayes & some great mennys seruaūtys bere men in hande that theyr soue­reyns support such maters specially in tauerns, marchaūtes howses, & other placys / where they make thē selues no small fooles when wyse mē be forth a dores.

For ye vnderstande not what ye saye.

Howe so?

For yf we wyll put awaye all Lutheranes and all suche open heresyes, we must fyrst putte awaye many other synnys whyche haue brought those heresyes in. For trow ye that heresyes the moost terryble plage of god / cometh not through synne of the peple prouokynge hys ire and indygnacyon / whereby he sendyth a­monge [Page] them false prophetes & erronyous teachers, prechyng maters accordynge to theyre waywarde appetytes.

yet prestys and clarkys are y^e bryngers vp of heresyes and y^e chefe maynteyners of them, by occasyon of popes, cardy­nalles, bysshops, & other pre­latys of the clergye.

I wyll neyther excuse nor accuse neyther them nor other. But I fere me y^t as for other synnes the clargie and the lay to shall not nede to stryue therfore / but maye well agre togyther and parte the stake betwene them. And as for heresyes, thoughe some of the clergye comenly begynne them: yet yf we loke on olde cronycles wyth experyēce of our own tyme, we shall well [Page] fynde that there hathe not lck­ked some great temporal pryncys, nor a great nōber of lewd laye people / to set them forth & support them. was not the orygynall grounde and cawse of M. Luthers heresye to do pleasure to hys prynce, and to purchase fauoure amonge the people. In lyke maner Oecolam padius, zwynglius, Pharel­lus, and other mo folowed the same trace. when prynces & comōties at first bent vppō affeccyō agaynst y^e church, or cōceyue any straūge purpose [...]trary to scrypture: then immedy­atly they fynde at hand suche lerned persons that can ende­uoure theyr braynes in approuyng theyr lustes / makynge y^t whych ys vnlawfull lawfull, [Page] whych say that good is yuell & yuell ys good, callyng lyghte darknes and darkenes lyght.

We shall finde thē amōg whych prech such thyngys as ye call heresye for no such cau­se / but preche it boldely before great audyēce, where they for theyr prechyng be brought in great danger.

Though they do fall in harme, yet haue they hope to wynne theyr fa­uour / or els why are they so desyrous to haue so many ley mē present at theyr examynaciōs?

They make of it a reasonable cause for .ii. cōsideraciōs One ys to thyntēt they myght not be wrongefully oppressyd in corners: a nother is because they wolde that people shulde bere wytnes of theyr cōstancy [Page] in confessyng the trouthe for Crystys sake.

These cō syderacyons in theym yf they were true as they be fals: were yet of small efficacite & against the euangelyke perfeccion. As towchynge the fyrste, god pro­myseth yf hys seruauntys be wrongyd pryuely / he wyll re­uenge them openly. And Cryst in the gospell exhortyng vs to suffraunce / byddeth hys dyscyples to be ioyful in persecuciō / sayng y^t happy are ye when ye are belyed, euyll spoken apon, and extremely dealte wythall for my names sake. The other apperythe to be an excuse of vaynglory couetynge wordly prays / where as they perceyue that people fauourynge theyr parte wyll interprete to theyre [Page] commendacyon what so euer they say, though yt be agaynst scripture / cōtrary to all verite. Saynt Peter wylleth vs to gyue acounte of our faythe to euery bodye / and that my dely wyth all lowlynes. we haue no presydent of thappostles, that euer they dysdayned to āswere before the infydele iuges, tyll y^e vulgare multytude were by them / or that they requyred assystence of great men to be re­cordes of theyre wordes. wherfore I meruell what cōscyence these persons haue / whych are so importune to be examyned in presence of rude seculers & ignoraunt people / when they answere so dowtfully that the beste [...]ernyd can not well construe theyre meanynge. And [Page] in pryncypall artycles where vppon depēdeth our saluacyō or dampnacyon: some answer so nakydly with blynd shyfts, that they be able to brynge vn lernyd people in to erroure of thīges wherof they neuer doutyd before / vsynge euer ouer thwart speche and quaylynge sentences of dowble vnderstā dynge, wyth protestacyons of hypocrysye after thys fassion: In good fayth I thynke there is a purgatorye, albeyt I can not tell whether I may beleue yt or no. I suppose that confessyon made to a preest, and pylgrymagys may be well done / but I fynde them not in scry­pture: I beleue in these wordis of Cryft, thys is my body / but as concernyng hys bodely presence [Page] in forme of breade, to say any thynge yt ys aboue my capacyte / and I dare not medle with so dyffuse maters. I rekē that I may beleue y^e doctours of the church yf they speke not agaynst the worde of god. &c. To vse such ābages in weyghtye causes, & to put in questyō a fresshe the cases defyned by generall counsels, as thoughe we were vncertayne of our belefe & new to begyn agayn: I repute yt no spyryte of trothe sekynge goddys honoure and edificaciō of theyr neyghbour. Nor I dout not but at the day of iugemēt, they shall make a more seryous answere. Thys cōsyderacyō is also as I haue sayde very playnly false. For whē these siy shyftes fayle thē: [Page] they shew no cōstancy of theyr vnfaythfull doctryne / but fal­sely forswere them self and say they neuer sayd so / the hole audyēce detestyng theyr periury all saue onely theyr owne sect / whyche as for periury pardon eche other. To speke of many­fest myssliuers and open transgressours, whom may we well exempte? consyderynge howe prone and redy y^e hole world is from the moste to the leste, to declyne and fall vnto euyll. Our fayth whyche god hathe gyuen vs to bylde good wor­kes vppon is waxen barayne & fruteles. Charyte lykewyse, wherin we shuld be tryed to be the very dyscyples of Cryst / is waxed colde through y^e excesse of iniquyte. Amyable concorde [Page] wyth crystē vnyte, whervppō all vertue fastenyth her fundacyon is fallen in ruyne / to the fre entresse of hatefull dyscēiō & lyberte of al vyces. In euery state and degre, y^e one barkyth at the other / one obiectyth a­gaynst a nother hys fawtys / eche of theym facynge other to be causes of theyr myseryes / & yet neuer a one fassyoneth him selfe towarde any amendemēt for hys owne parte.

By my trothe I deme the people wold be good ynough, yf they had good heades.

I de­nye not y^e verely, but the better that the heades be the better were the body lyke to be / and y^e euyll y^t is in euyll heades des­cēdeth down in to euery parte, and maketh all the bodye the [Page] worse. And yet surely yf y^e peo­ple be euyll: the synne of them causeth god sometyme to send them heades of the same sute, bothe popes, emperours, kyn­gys, cardynallys, bysshoppes, prestys, and curatys. For yt is the synne of the people as Iobtestyfyeth, that causeth god to suffer hypocrytys sometyme to rayne ouer theym. Hypocrytes he calleth theym that represente the personages of these estates, whose partes they do playe for a countenaunce, and do the contrarye in dede. And as farre as I haue redde in y^e byble / all y^e whyle y^t the peple of Israhell were good obeyng goddys lawys and sought his honoure: god gaue theym gracyous gouernours, vertuous [Page] prestes, and trewe prophetes. But as sone as they swaruyd & fell vnto ydolatry: he sēt thē for theyre punyshment vngra­cyous pryntes, vycyous prelatys, and fals ꝓphetys / so that no dyfference was betwene y^e people & the prestys / nor y^e people coud not ymagyne so outragyous abomynacyōs, but princys and prestys bothe were re­dy to fortefye them in theyr vnhappynes.

yet yf ye re­member well the storyes of the byble / ye shall fynde y^t the trās­gressyō of goddys law amōg the peple / redownded fyrst frō y^e heades by theyr pernycyous occasyon. And as to wchynge fals prophetes and yll prestes: god hym selfe greuous [...]y com­playneth apon them / shewyng [Page] how the people are seducyd by them to the pollutynge of hys name and vyolacyon of hys lawes. whose enmyous wycked­nes Ezechiell, Hieremye, wyth dyuers other ꝓphetes, declare at length. Dyd not the Belyal preastes Ophni & Phynes by theyr pestylent example and lecherous lyuynge corrupte many one / vppon whom god ta­kynge vengeaunce / they loste theyr lyues in batayll / and the arke of god wherof they had y^e cure takē by the Phylysteys / xxx. thousande fyghtynge men of the Israhelyte people were slayne in one day. Lykewyse y^e chyldren of Samuell whyche were iuges of the peple / not ensuynge theyre fathers steppes but set apō couetousnes, toke [Page] rewardes and peruertyd iugement / by whose occasyon the people were mouyd to aske a kynge vnto theyr desolacyon. Moreouer the storye of kynge Saull is playn, for whose pryuate dysobedyēce y^e hole lande of Israhell smarted full sore. Kyng Dauyd though he was a blyssed mā, yet brought vnto foly for to nomber his people / they were fayne to suffer moste wofull plages for hys offence. Manye other lyke placys I coud gather out of y^e olde testament, were yt nat to eschew te­dyousnes / specyally of Hiero­boam, whom y^e scrypture testyfyeth expresly, that he caused y^e peple of Israhell to synne. Besyde all thys go to the very experyence / and ye shall fynde y^t [Page] where soeuer the heade or go uernour of an howse ys good / the hole howsholde comenlye shall be good also. And contrary wyse yf they be badde / the other shall be as euyll / so that I may conclude in veryfyeng myne opynyon / that the yll cō uersacyon of subgectys proce­dyth out of y^e euyll example of theyr heades.

To begyn where as ye leaue / I graunt y^t the vertuous exāple of y^e head auayleth moch to the good or­der of the members / & the greater that the auctoryte ys, the more strength yt hath in example, eyther to profyte or to noy / consyderyng that amonge pryuate persons the goodnesse of some one, ēducyth many other to vertue / & contrary the lewdnes [Page] of another, bryngeth ma­ny to vyce & vngracyousnes. But yet cā not ye [...]clude apon thys, that y^e euylnes of the people comyth fyrste by the exāple of the heades / but rather as I haue spoken before, because y^e peple be euyll them selfs / therfore god sendyth theym accor­ding yll heades & gouernours. For ye must consyder that god hath not made the people for y^e sensuall pleasure of pryncys, gouernours, or prelatys / but hath ordeyned them to y^t we all and commodyte of the people. ye haue in Exodus the thyrde chapyter, that when the peple of Israhell were in myserable thraldome vnder kynge Pha­ro: they cryed to god for reme­dye / and god prouyded theym [Page] Moyses to be theyr delyuerer / to whom in gyuyng his of [...]yce he sayde: The clamoure of the childrē of Israhell is come vnto me and I haue sene theyr afflyccyons how they are oppressyd of the Egypcians: therfore approche and I shall sende the to belyuer my peple. ye, god loued the peple so entyerly, that of theym he chose bysshoppes, prestes, and deakenes, to offer specyall sacrefyces for the clensynge of theyre synnes / and to be as meanes betwene hym & the. Note of whom also Moy­ses toke the noble & wyse men / & made of thē prices, captayns and gouernours, for theyre polytyke conseruacion. Agreable to this the storyes of Iudicum make r [...]encion, that the people [Page] of Israhell longe season after Iosues death obseruyng god­dys lawes and fulfyllyng hys commaundemētes prosperyd in peace and hadde gracyous gouernours. But whē they fel to synne & ydolatry: god gaue them in to subieccyon of theyr enemyes / and were compellyd whether they wolde or not to serue hethen pryncys and myscreaūt ydolaters / yet notwythstandynge in myddys of theyr myseryes, where as wyth a re­pentaūt hart they cryed to god for socour, and besought hym of mercy: he raysde vp among thē selues certayne captaynes at sōdry tymes / as Othonyell, Ayoth, Gedeō, Sampson, and dyuers other / whyche delyue­red them from all bondage / restorynge [Page] thē agayne to theyr lyberte. And where as ye allege the chyldren of Helye to haue bene cawse of the takynge of the arke and slawghter of the people: I beleue verely that y^e peple were then myscheuously myndyd as they be nowe a da­yes. whyche perceyuyng y^t the . ii. prestes y^t bare y^e arke wher­by they hopyd of victory, were slayne: they surmysed that the vengeaūce for the prestes syn­nes was cawse why the arke was takē and so moche people destroyed. & vnder this blynde audacyte they remayned styll impenytēt / not aknowlegyng to god theyre owne offences & ydolatrye: whych apperyth by the returne agayn of the arke / where aboue the nomber of .l. [Page] thousande persons were pla­gyd with sodayne deth. Also it may be verefyed by y^e wordys of Samuell exhortyng the pe­ple to returne vnto god wyth harte vnfaynyd / and to caste owte all straunge goddys, preparynge theyr hartys to y^e ser­uyce of god onely. For when they hadde fastyd and done penaūce, not imputynge y^e fawte to other but to thē selfs / sayng all we good lorde haue synned agaynst the: god delyuered thē from theyre enemyes. In lyke maner y^e mysorder of Samuel lys sonnes was not so greatly the occasyon whye the people were mouyd to aske a kyng for to reygne ouer theym / as was theyr owne dyffydence toward goddys puisiō, obstynate dys­obedyence, [Page] and vnquyete ap­petyte of ydolatrye / couetynge to be lyke other hethē nacyōs: whyche is to be ꝑceyued by the answere of god vnto Samuel thus sayng: Here the peoples voyce in all thynges that they speke vnto the / they haue nott cast y^t of but me, least I shulde re [...]gne ouer thē. They do euē accordyng to all theyr workes whyche they dyd in the daye y^t I brought them out of Egypt hytherto. As they haue forsa­ken me & seruyd fals goddys / thus do they also to the. when Samuell hadde shewed vnto them the dyspleasure of god, wyth the manyfolde myseryes and calamytyes whyche they shulde suffer by the chaunge: yet wolde they not here hym / [Page] but sayd that nedys they wold haue a kynge ouer them as o­ther people had. Furthermore ye afferme y^t y^e people of Isra­hel were punyshed for the dysobedyent tra [...]sgressyon of kyng Saull. But all thynges consydered yt ys to be thoughte ra­ther that their wylful frowardnes agaynst god was partely occasyon of hys fall / to thentēt the sentence of god spoken by y^e prophet myght be verefyed. For yf he had bene an vpright prynce & had obserued goddes commaundement: they shulde haue bene in such felycyte that they wolde haue iuged theyre pe [...]ycyon lawfull in demaun­dyng a kynge cōtrary to god­dys pleasure. And I dowt not but god gaue them a kynge of [Page] dysposycyon lyke to theyre de­meanoure / so y^t when he transgressyd goddys p̄cept in dede / they dyd the same, at the laste ī wyll & cōsent / wherby they deseruyd to be punysshed wyth hym. For god neuer taketh vē geaunce apon ony people but onely for theyre synne / whyche af [...]er dyuers admonyciōs why les they wyll not amende / euē as he gyueth to the good peo­ple gracyous heades and prynces, furtheryng them in his fauour to theyr [...]fort: so sendeth he to the euyll wyckyd heades & rulers, prouoking his wrath to theyr desolaciō. And no meruell thoughe Saull faryd the worse for hys people / wher as Moyses the most faythfull seruaunte of god was partely by [Page] their frowardnes debarred frō the pleasaunt lande of behest. As for kyng dauyd, it is playn that god dyspleasyd wyth the chyldern of Israhell for theyr synnes: ꝑmyttyd Sathā to incyte hym for to nōber hys people, wherfore they were bothe punysshed. And though scryp­ture expressely saythe that Hie [...]oboā causyd y^e peple to synne: yet were they as mich fauty as he / saue y^t because they cōmyt­ted theyre ydolatry vnder hys supportacyon, he bare y^e name as pryncypall auctor: as we se y^e captay as of hostes in warre tyme thoughe some of them do sometyme as lytell or lesse thā many a poore souldyer in hys armye whose acte is nothynge spoken of / yet all the fame and [Page] honour of the vyctory rebowndyth euer vnto them. whych is apartely prouyd by the oracyō of king Abya Roboams sone / laynge to the peoples charge that they forsoke god & made them goldē calues / expulsyng the prestes & deakenes of god­dys ordynaunce, and instytu­tynge other after the order of hethen ydolaters. wherto agreeth in defence of myne opyniō, the generall confessyon of the people wyth theyre vnyuersall submyssyō ī knowlege of theyr trespaces, recyted ī sondry placys of scrypture after thys for me: we haue synned wyth our forefathers / we haue done wyckedly, & haue cōmytted iniquyre / all we haue trāsgressyd thy commaundementys. And surely [Page] as the worlde is nowe cro­kedly enclyned to malyce: yf god sente heades and pryncys accordyng to the deuelys [...]he appetytes of mych peple / y^e welth of this regyō wold be sone subuerted & euerye state broughte to confusyon, albeit they otherwyse coloure yt and make as though they ment non harme, but rather mych deuocyon / & y^t the vnlerned wolde haue the scrypture in to theyre handys for none other cause but onely to preche secretly to them selfe for lacke of good preachours abrode. But then in dede y [...] apperyth that they preach to thē self and theyr neyghbours to, many an horryble horosye, and abuse the scrypture to the colorable defence of the same. And [Page] then are they also to, all Tyn­dals bokys / whych for the ma­nyfolde mortall heresyes con­teyned within the same open­ly condempnyd and forbeden / they are I saye yet vnto those bokes so sore affeccionate, that neyther the condempnacyō of them by the clergy, nor the for bedyng of them by the kyngys hyghnes with his open proclamacyōs vppon great paynes / nor the daūger of open shame, nor parell of paynfull deth / cā cast thē out of some fond folkis handes, and that folke of eue­ry sorte. Howe thynke ye then these folke wold haue bene stomaked, & how many mo wold haue blustred, owt with them / yf the mayntenaūce of the prynces and the states of the reame [Page] (whych our lorde defende) had bene vppon theyre syde. And where abowt wolde they then haue gone? abowte no great good ye maye be sure. Se ye not the vyllayne beggers and valyaūt vagaboūdes, whom god plageth with pouerte and myserye for theyr abomynable lyuynge / dysposed to no goodnes, howe hartely they wysshe for a ruffelynge daye. Beholde euery state all moste in euery crystē realme, as husband mē, artyfycers, marchaunts, cour­tyers, wyth all other degrees as well spyrituall as tēporall / & I fere me that ye shall saye, but yf god of hys goodnes a­mēde vs the soner / there shall come to passe amonge vs the ferefull iugemēt of god spokē [Page] by the prophete O see, to the people of Israhell and inhabyters of the lande: There is no trothe, no mercye, nor scyence of god in the yerth. Cursynge & lyenge, manslaughter, theft, and aduowtrye hathe ouerf [...]owen / & bloode hathe towchyd bloode: for the which the yerth shall wayle, and euery inhabyter in yt shall be feeblyd. And thys as I haue sayde not one contrey fawty & a nother fawtles, one estate fowle and deformed and another pure & clene, the spyrytualtye synfull and y^e temporaltye set all on vertue, the heades & rulers culpable & the people owt of blame, nor y^t ony estate maye laye the hole weyght of goddes wrath vnto the other and therof discharge [Page] them selfe / but eche of them ys cause both of theyr own harme and other folkys to. And the people are nothynge lesse faw­ty prouokynge the wrathe of god, than theyre heades or gouernoures / nor one state party culerly cawse of anothers ca­lamyte. But all we togyther haue synned & haue deseruyd the vengeaūce of god, whyche hangyth before our eyes redy to fall ere we be aware.

In thys poynte ye haue ryght well satysfyed my mynde: but what remedye now of reconcy lyacyon agayne to god?

Forsothe I knowe none but onely penaunce. I saye not re­pentyng onely as Luther and Tyndall and these new folkes call yt / which wolde begyle vs [Page] and make vs wene y^t we nede no more but onely repent and do no penaunce at all / tellyng vs that Crystys passyon shall stand in stede of all our penaū ce, though we do neuer so euill and lyue neuer so longe. wyth thys false doctryne they dryue many a soule to the deuyll / makynge theym neglygente and take lytell care or sorowe for theyre synne / and so myche the more rechelesse in fallynge to synne agayne. But I speke of penaunce as yt unplyeth both repētaūce of our synnes past / & y^e sacrament of peuaūce, wyth care & sorow and bodely payn & afflyccyō taken for our syn, wyth prayer, almouse, & other good workys to purchase the more grace / & y^t we shuld wyth [Page] recourse to confessyon & the sacrament of penaūce, dylygētly prepare our selues in folowīg the exāple of the Nynyuytes [...]: whyche at the preachynge of the prophete Ionas, repentyd wyth ernest purpose of amen­dynge theyr lyues / and dyd penaunce in deede, in fastynge and prayer, humblynge theyre sowles frome the moste to the least vnto the mercy of god.

wolde our lorde that we had such a ꝓphete sent among vs to exhorte vs vnto penaūce as the prophete Ionas was to theym.

That were lyke to the request of the ryche gluttone in hell of whō the gospell telleth / whych desyred that Lazare myghte besente to warne hys brethern: to whom yt was [Page] answeryd, that hauynge Moyses & the prophetes, they shuld gyue credence to theym. wherfore seynge that we haue holy scrypture which expressyth the rightwysnes of god / declaring howe our forefathers were punysshed for theyr synnes: yf we refuse to be warnyd by theyre admonycyon, truely we wolde be as neglygent to amende, yf Ionas raysed frō death to lyfe shulde preache vnto vs. For we haue saynt Iohū baptyst a greater ꝓhete thā Ionas was cryenge to all synners: Do ye worthy frutes of penaunce: of whom Cryste wytnessyth that there ys none greater than he amonge the chyldrē of womē. Also oure saue our Cryste hym self, of whom saynt Ihon̄ restyfyed [Page] that he was vnworthy to lose his shoo latchet: preachyd penaunce saynge: Do ye pe­naunce, the kyngdome of he­uyn is at hande. And in ano­ther place of the gospell he sayth: yf ye do not penaunce ye shall all perysshe. And saynte Peter his vycare here ī yerth, vppō whom and whose faythfull confessyon he promysed to bylde hys church: preachyd lykewyse in hys fyrste sermone sayng: Do ye penaūce and be conuertyd to god, that youre synnys maye be done awaye. Also saynt poule the chose vessell of god, preached fyrst of all to them of Damasco, that they shuld be penytent and turne to god / ꝑfourmynge the due warkes of penaunce. Cōfyrmynge [Page] the same when Cryst apperyd vnto the .ii. dyscyples iorneing to Emaus: he sayd y^t after his death and resurreccyon yt be / houyd penaūce to be preachyd in hys name and remyssyon of synnes: for why y^e cause of his comynge was not to call rygh teoꝰ folk but synners vnto penaunce. And the aungellys of heuyn reioyced not so greatly in nynty & nyne iuste persons, as vppō one synner doyng penaūce. As concernyng the olde testament / god hym selfe pro­myseth in dyuers placys, that a synner shall be forgyuen hys synnes whē so euer he wyll do penāce. wherfore seīg we haue so euydēt exhortacyōs of scrypture mouynge vs to penaūce, and manyfolde warnynges to [Page] correcte our lyues through the the pacyent suffraunce of god: happy ar we yet, yf now at last ere that yt be to late me cowde faythfully say wyth Iobe per­fourming y^e dede: lord we haue hard y^e wyth oure eares, & therfore we rep̄hēde our selfes & do penaūce.

yet wote I not well what ye call penaunce.

I haue onys told you & yet I tell you agayn I call penaūce a chaūge of our lyfe ī ca­styng of y^e synfull old mā with hys dedys, and doynge on a new man of vertuous conuet­sacyon / whiche by fayth, hope, and charyte, and the good workes y^t come of them / as prayer almouse, sorow for hys synne, and payne gladly taken and susteyned for the same / ys re­newed [Page] in to the knowledge and fauoure of god, accordynge to hys ymage that made hym.

how shuld laye mē come to thys knowlege when y^e gos­pell ys lockyd fro them.

The gospell of Cryste whyche ys goddes worde is free, and can not be boūde nor kepte frō any Crysten man.

By saynt Marye for all that saye people maye not be fuffred to haue the newe testament men glysshe, whyche I call the gospell.

O ye meane Tyn­dals gospell.

In dede though Tyndall was the trāslatour / yt ys the worde of god and the verye same testament whyche ye haue in latyn of the euangelystes puttynge forth.

yet lernyd mē and good [Page] men haue founden suche faw­tys in hys corrupt translaciō: that yt ys for the same well & lawfully forbedē.

yf they be good men as ye saye y^t haue founde yt fauty: I shuld reken thē better a great deale / whych wold amēde it.

Though yt were amēdyd & suffycyently correctyd: yet wyll I not say y^t yt ys expedyent for lay people to haue yt cōsyderyng y^e tyme as yt ys nowe.

whye ye sayd y^t the gospell maye not be kept frō crysten mē.

No more yt maye though yt be re­strayned frome the laye people in theyr vulgare tonge. For y^e worde of god whyche ys the worde of faythe as scrypture sayth / is nere the in thy mouth & in thy harte to thentent thou [Page] mayste do yt.

Than I praye you where saynt Poule sayth that fayth comyth by he­rynge, and herynge comyth by the worde of god: how can we haue yt wythout prechynge or informacyon of yt by redynge of scrypture.

Outwarde prechyng and lyterall redyng of scrypture are necessary meanes to attayne vnto the knowlege of the spyryte.

wherfore then ys the gospell wyth­holden frome the laye people?

I sayd they be two thynges necessary / but I sayd not that bothe twayne be to euery man necessary. But yt is necessary that euery man haue the tone or the tother, and so haue they: for they haue the worde of god prechid & expowned vnto [Page] th [...].

ye as the prestes lyst wythe false gloses.

wyth the same gloses that the olde holy doctours & sayntys haue made / other maner of mē thā Luther & Tyndale whych now corrupt the trewth wyth theyr false gloses.

But why shuld not the comē peple haue the scrypture them self in theyr awn mother tong?

Because of theyr abuse & ma­kyng of theyr awne glosys, & many also for theyr vnworthynes, accordynge to Crystes cō maundement forbeddynge to cast per [...]es before swyne, or to gyue holy thyngis to dogges. Dyd not saynt Paule forbede women to speake the worde of god in congregacyons, for the auoydyng of abuse and dysorder? [Page] Also dyd not he and Batnabas forsake prechyng to the iewes because of theyr vnworthynes?

That is not a lyke case: for the text is playn y^t the iewes wylfully resystyd the worde of god, and wolde not receyue yt. But these peo­ple are so desyrous / that they putte theym selfes in no small ieopardye many tymes for the hauyng of yt.

I graunt there be some which of a good mynde are desyroꝰ to haue the gospell in theyr mother tōge, for y^e erudyciō & [...]fort of theyr soules. But they that be suche good folk may be wel & sufficiētly fed with y^e gospell p̄ched / & so wyll they rather chese to be than to haue the scrypture ronne in euery rasshe bodyes [Page] hande, y^t wold abuse it to their owne harme and other menys to. For well ye wot many ther he, and as yt apperethe in Al­mayn where they haue the scripture tra [...]slated all redy / the more parte and farre the greater multytude, are not lesse vnworthy in receyuynge yt, than were the iewes in the wylfull resystaūce of Crystes gospell▪ whych couet it onely for the lybertye to be fre from the excercyse of penaunce and doyng of good workes, to rayle and iest of other mennes fawtes wythout any correcciō of theyr own synfull lyues / nothyng conformable to the vertew of the gospell, whereof to bable many wordes they are not dombe. Mark it there substauncyally [Page] in cyties and townes where ye se y^e people most ryfest & moste busye to prate of the gospell / whether they be or not as gret vsurers, dysceyuers of theyre neybours, blasphemous swe­ters, euyll spekers, and gyuen to all vyces as depely as euer they were. Thys I am sure of and dare boldely afferme / that sythe the tyme of thys new cō ­tēryous lernyng, the drede of god ys gretely quenched, and charytable cōpassyon sore ababated. Shall ye not se there a cock braynyd courtyer y^t hath no more faythe thā a Turk, & lesse crysten maners thā a Pagane, with lordely coūtenaūce & knauysh condycyons / which takyng y^e name of god ī bayn, shall vnreuerently alledge the [Page] gospell with scoffyng and scornynge in reprehensyon of the clargye: where as hys owne lewd lyuynge is so vnthryfty, that ye can not aspye one good poynt in hym, except yt be apō hys hosen / nor a nynche of ho­nesty besyde his apparayle nor scantly theron neyther, beyng all to hackyd & iaggyd, wyth dowble weapen redy to fyght, and syngle wyt busy to brawle and chyde / more lyke a furyoꝰ tormentour of Herode, than a pacyēt dysciple of Cryst Shal ye not also se there a marchaūt pera [...]ēture made a gentyll mā by promocion, ere euer that he had a good yemās cond [...]cyōs: whych gettynge hys chefe substaunce as many do there by [Page] vsury / false dysceyte of trewe people, and other wrongfull wayes / wyll take apon hym to preache the gospell agaynste the auaryce of relygyous per­sones / how they hauyng theyr bare necessary foode, ought to parte y^e resydue of theyr good­des wyth pore peple: where as he hym selfe hath thousandes lyenge by hym in store vnoccupyed, and wyll nother help his poore neyghbour nor scarcely gyue a galy halpeny to a nedy creature in extreme necessyte. And at theyr belly festīg days, amonge such of theyr affynyte which are not so wyse nor well lernyd as they wolde be sene / yf yt chaunce them to haue in companye some symple preste: [Page] yt ys a wonder to here how he ys apposed / & after that theyre spyrytes be a lytell kyndled in glotony, howe they lasshe out the gospell. Than begynneth one or a nother wyth hys potycarye formalyte and holy daye grauyte / to moue some subtyle questyō, sayng: mayster person howe say ye to suche a texte of Poule? And yf y^e preste be ignoraunt for lacke of lernynge, or makyth not an answere satys­fyenge hys mynde: he ys moc­kyd and iestyd apon wyth scornefull de [...]ysyon. Then begyn they to canuasse the scrypture amonge theym, wyth fyllynge the cuppes & ioly gentyl chere. And by y^e tyme they haue eatē more than ynoughe, and haue [Page] dronken to moch: they be redy to wade forth in y^e depe myste­ryes of scrypture / wyllynge to be teachers of thynges wherof they vnderstāde not what they speke nor what they afferme. Then are they full armyd to talke of abstynence and sobr [...] dyet of thappostles: their table beynge furnysshed wyth sumptuous dysshes and exquysyte deyntyes. And where as theyr cuppbordes be ryally garnys­shed with costely plate, and the tables full of cuppes and pe­ces of syluer and golde: than make they exclamacyōs agaīst the rych iewellys of chyrches, as crosses and chalyses / sayng that better it were to make money of them and to be dystributyd [Page] vnto pore peple, than they shulde perysshe for lacke of so­coure▪ Lykewyse when they be seruyd at theyr solempnytyes, wyth counterfeyted curtesyes, in bowynge the kne, & valyng the bonet, hauyng sewers and and karuers after a moste sta­tely maner of seruyce, wherin yf the offycers fayle neuer so lytell though yt be but the set­tynge of a sawcer amysse they shall be rebukyd: yet theyr peuy [...]h pacyence can not brooke the honeste ceremonyes of the churche to be lawdably done / callynge theym folysshe fanta­syes & inuencyons of ydyotes. And though some of these new gospellers occupye trewelye and iustly wyth theyre neygh­bours [Page] in face of the worlde, be hauynge them selfes charyta­bly: yet are they very few in cō paryson of the other, whyche be raylers & gesters, vycyous lyuers & fals hypocrytes wyth owt ony conscyence.

As for hypocrytes I thynke ye myght fynde soner amongere lygyous persons.

wyll ye beleue me. I haue walkyd a great parte through owte all the prouynces of crystēdome, and haue sene and marcked the state of relygyous persons of dyuers orders: yet sawe I neuer amonge them suche co­louryd hypocrysye, so flesshely lybertye abusyd, vnder y^e pre­tence of fayned holynes / as a­monge many of these late in­uentyd [Page] faccyons. And I cer­tyfye yow that ye maye fynde mo dyuers sectys of erronyoꝰ opynyons among them in one cyte beyonde the se: than be sondrye orders of religyous peple in all Englonde.

Sup­pose ye y^e gospell to be in faute of thys?

Naye / but the abuse of the people hauyng yt in theyr vulgare lāguage: for whome yt were better to recey­ue yt by the mynystracyon of faythfull preachers, than vn­worthely to take it them selfs. we haue in the gospell y^t oure sauyour Cryst tedynge the nō ber of .v. thousand men besyde women and chyldren / fyrst gy­uyng thankys to his father he blyssed the breade, brake yt & [Page] gaue yt to hys dyscyples, and they dystrybutyd yt to the company / and so they dyd eate and were sacyate.

Syr ac­cordyng to thys y^e peple shuld holde them very well content, yf so be they had faythfull prechers to mynyster the worde of god vnto thē. But I put case they haue none, or ellys that theyr peachers be suche as the ꝓphete cōplayneth on / whych preache y^e vysyō of theyr hart [...] & not of y^e mouth of god: seking also theyr owne worldly prof­fyte, and not the gostly cōfort of theyr cures.

I beleue y^t god hath not lefte his chyrch destytute of faythfull prea­chers / wyth the whych he hath ꝓmnysed to be contynually present [Page] vnto the worldys ende. How be yt the fewer that they be / the more fawte is to be im­puted vnto the peple, becawse they aske not worthely of god trewe preachers. For the gos­pell sheweth that the people came fyrst to Cryst / and he perceyuyng thē was mouyd wyth compassyon vppon theym, be­cawse they were as sheepe ha­uynge no hearde / and so fea­dynge theyr sowles spyrytual­ly, afterwarde he dyd repaste theyre bodyes wyth corporall foode. wherfore yf they in lyke maner approche vnto Cryste (in whose name what so euer is desyred of the father shall be graūtyd) he wyll also here gracyously theyr petycyon: for the [Page] hande of god is not abreuyatt nowe / nor hys power otherwyse mynysshed than yt was at that tyme.

yet am not I so satysfyed wyth all the reasons y^t ye haue made / but I thynke styll that yt were law­full for laye people to haue the new testament in Englysshe: & perauenture wyth a lytell ley­ser I cowd lay suche scrypture for yt / that scant ye shuld be a­ble to obiecte ony contradye­cyon.

ye shall haue leyser ynowgh. But in the meane tyme thys ye must consyder y^t our question is not whyther it be lawfull to let them haue yt / but whyther yt be vnlawfull to kepe them from it / and why ther of the twayn is more mete [Page] and more expedyent, specyally for the tyme that nowe ys the peple beynge dysposed as they now be / and after suche ensample as we see before oure iyen, with suche fruyte as we fynde growē therof in Almayne all redy and in many placys euyn here at home also. But yf euer the tyme come as I praye god yt may / in whyche the people shall be so good and so godly dysposed that an englysshe byble shuld do good in theyr handes: yet myght Tyndals translacyon in no wyse be suffered.

well I shall bethynke me tyll we mete agayne / and then wyll I be so bolde also to take Tyndals parte in defēce of hys translacyon and other [Page] bokys which he hath put forth in englysshe, allegyng the best that I can for theyr alowance: to thentent I maye see what stronge reasons ye can brynge to cōfute them.

Ther wyth am I ryghte well pleasyd / and I trust with goddes help to answer you so effectuously that ye shall not counte the tyme passed in vayne.

Than fare ye well tyll a nother season.

Oure lorde be wyth yow.